The Rise of the Final Order - A Star Wars Story

Chapter 11

Lyra Solo

The guard led Lyra and Kaia into a room with several other women inside. They were clearly servants too, and none of them looked happy to be here.

When the guard spoke, he addressed the other servants. "Pavan Ras wants these two ready for the feast." With that, he turned and left, the door closing behind him.

One of the women, a Togruta close to Ben's age who appeared to be a sort of leader among the servants, stepped forward, eyeing them curiously.

"Who are you?" she asked. "And why are you here?"

"I'm Taryn," Kaia responded smoothly. "And this is Thea. We used to belong to Bristan Talv, but he gave us to Black Sun when he joined."

The Togruta regarded them for a moment, then said, "I am Miyak. I have been here longer than anyone in this room." She paused, then added, "You are not like us."

Kaia blinked at her. "What do you mean?"

"You chose to be here," Miyak replied, narrowing her eyes. "Why would you do that?"

"What do you mean?" Lyra asked nervously. "What makes you think we wanted to be here?"

"You do not look like a typical servant," Miyak responded. "Clearly your spirit has not been broken. You do not have a look of defeat or fear in your eyes."

"You're right, we're not," Kaia responded, clearly realizing there was no point in lying to the woman. "But we have a good reason to be here."

Miyak raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? And what is that? I don't suppose you've come to free us?"

That last question was clearly a sarcastic one, and Lyra couldn't help but feel bad. That certainly seemed like a much better reason to be here than to assassinate someone.

"No, not exactly," Lyra replied awkwardly. "But I think we might at least be helping you in a way."

Miyak continued to stare at them expectantly, waiting for them to elaborate. Lyra glanced at Kaia, unsure if they should give away any more information. After all, Miyak might not want Pavan Ras dead, although Lyra highly doubted that was the case.

But before Kaia or Lyra could finish their explanation, Miyak's eyes lit up with understanding and, perhaps Lyra was imagining it, excitement. "You're assassins!"

"Sort of," Kaia responded carefully.

"Who are you here to kill?" Miyak demanded, and Lyra saw some of the other servants move in closer, listening intently.

"Pavan Ras," Kaia replied.

Miyak's expression turned grave. "Many have tried to kill him before," she said. "But none have succeeded."

"We will," Kaia assured her. "We've got a good plan."

"I should hope so," Miyak remarked. "Everyone who tries to kill Pavan Ras ends up dead."

"Well, that's reassuring," Lyra muttered uneasily.

"This is going to work," Kaia affirmed. "Trust me."

Miyak stared at her for a long moment before saying, "Then we better get you ready for the feast." She clapped her hands together and turned to the other women. "Alright everyone, let's get to work."

About half an hour later, Miyak and the other servant women had finished helping Lyra and her friend get ready, just in time for the feast. The same guard from before came to get them, along with Miyak and a Twi'lek woman named Chena.